Audi calls for A2 return

Audi is well advanced with plans for a spiritual successor to the lightweight A2 city car, according to company sources.

Strong demand for the recently launched A1, and the increasing relevance of fuel efficiency — an area where the original, aluminium-bodied A2 really excelled — are thought to have persuaded the Ingolstadt firm to replace the car. However, it was considered a sales flop by the time it was axed in 2005.

“A new A2 is being discussed internally and a number of concepts are being looked at,” an insider told Autocar. “I wouldn’t be surprised if it was shown first as a concept. “I’m sure that the new car will be in a similar mould of the old model: futuristic, low volume and using state-of-the-art technology,” the source added. “It will be an unashamedly hi-tech Audi.”

Engineers are also thought to have been given the challenging target of undercutting the 895kg weight of the original A2. However, the low-run A2 1.2 TDI ‘three-litre’ model, which returned 95mpg, weighed just 825kg; that raises the possibility that the internal weight target for a new, four-seat A2 could be as low as 800kg.

It’s thought that the new A2 could be one of the first production cars using Audi’s new Multimaterial Space Frame (MSF) technology, which will underpin the company’s next-generation MLB-Evo platform. MSF mixes steel, aluminium and fibre-reinforced plastics — using rivets, screws and bonding — into a single structure and will replace Audi’s pure-aluminium ASF construction.

Insider sources at Audi say the MLB-Evo platform will be used on all future models, from the A4 up to the Q7.